That's something I've seen posted on St. Blogs over the years. So called 'New Prolife Catholics' say it's a heresy to boil the whole of the Catholic Faith down to a single issue. By that, they usually mean abortion. As in, Pro-Lifers say there is nothing that matters except abortion. Clearly there are important parts of the Faith that don't have to do with abortion. Therefore, Pro-Lifers are heretics.
The funny thing? I notice most 'New Pro-life Catholics', or if you prefer 'Seamless Garment Catholics', do just that. They just do it in reverse. That is, they insist abortion is not the only thing that matters ... and then proceed to say nothing about anything else, at least to the left of center.
Abortion isn't all that matters becomes abortion doesn't matter at all. Pope Francis might call abortion child murder, but it doesn't seem to be a deal breaker with him. From there, we learn nothing else matters either. How about leftwing and Democrat Catholics and underage transgender surgeries, which are now not only admitted to but celebrated on the Left? What about the continued peddling of the sex culture, or sexing up kids? What about the rise in using pre-natal testing to discover, and eliminate, babies with possible disabilities? How about embryonic stem cell research, which is still a thing? How about the suicide rights and right to die platform? Thoughts on non-white racism against non-whites? Heck, how about Catholics rejecting the fundamental teachings of the Church regarding such favorites as the nature of the Eucharist or salvation through Christ? All of these things find friendship, if not party platform support, from the political and ideological Left.
Do these 'whole life Catholics' ever speak to these things? I've not seen them. If you try to get them to speak to them you're accused of 'whataboutism' or deflection or some such. They're usually content with pointing out that abortion is not their only issue, therefore they are truly 'whole life' because of their politics. Yet, in a weird way, they seem to have made not making abortion their only issue into their only issue; the one position that taketh away the sins of the left that no longer need confronted. I find that amusing when I think on it.
They're poseurs.
ReplyDeleteIt would be easier if they came out and said they were leftists or liberals or something. Instead they have to hide behind this sort of trickery.
DeleteYou are right. Abortion for the left IS the only issue for them. We've noticed for years how the left accuses the faithful Catholics of the very things they themselves do. There is a lot of power and money flowing from the abortion industry.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed liberalism do that more than once. Consider the whole gay rights issue. They literally say you have to accept for pay the price of being a homophobic bigot, and yet if you explain why you can't accept non-heterosexual normality, they have more than once responded with 'why are you always trying to impose your values on us!' It wouldn't be so maddening since I'm sure liberals aren't the only ones to play such tricks. The problem is the press, educators, pop culture, and even religious outlets won't call them out.
DeleteLiberals have to hide their true agendas when campaigning for elected office. They know if they say they will raise taxes, increase the size of government, open borders to allow everyone into the country no matter what(which is actually happening now and which they deny) etc that they will lose each and every time.
DeleteYep, if the Left was honest, nobody would buy what it's selling, which is essentially a throwback to the olden days of powerful oligarchs and billions off serfs to serve them.
DeleteThis is the way it is with sin. It is rarely first offered as something clearly grave, something you clearly understand, and something you clearly consent to. Either the gravity, the understanding, or the consent is usually minimal at first. Then, as time goes on and the sin becomes familiar, the gravity, the understanding, and the consent are all leveled up, so that a truly mortal sin is achieved.
DeleteDon't fool yourself into thinking that abortion would always be rejected if people understood how grave it is. In addition to the general pattern of sin, there is ample evidence for this particularly.
You're right. I think we should be past the whole 'if only they understood' phase. When the Roe decision came down, the press inadvertently gave the megaphone to activists who were often young, well to do college activists making it clear this was all about having tons of sex and aborting anything that gets in the way of them having more sex and keeping in the plush colleges they were attending. Far removed from those cases of rape and incest and starving moms we hear so much about. Trying to explain the gravity at that point is likely not going to accomplish much.
DeleteIt's annoying as the "New Prolife" people are really just the same as the "old" abortion ignoring people. And what did we all get from that? MORE abortion, a REALLY pro-abortion party (now dabbling in euthanasia), more extreme abortion laws and really none of the other "life" benefits they claimed outweighed the abortion issue. If Catholics, in particular, had held the Democratic party accountable on the abortion issue in the 80s and early 90s, we might actually have pro-life Dems still. But I know where I grew up - rural farm town - I knew old farmers who just couldn't think of voting anything but D because they were all in for the party of FDR. Even now I know nice little old ladies who continue to vote D because that is what you do!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the above comments too: people now, for the large part, do understand what they are doing. I know some of them. They chose abortion anyway because of the expediency of it. And the ones who have not repented and sought forgiveness, wallow in bad consciences that make them defiant and obstinate (for now, but I do pray for their repentance) in affirming abortion and other sins as "good." Sin really does just make us stupid and self-destructive, and unfortunately, repentance is not a given!
The link between the Democrats and American Catholics has been one of those strange storylines in political history. For many, the change in the Democrats was irrelevant. They were Democrat by identity. More than Republicans, they seemed to identify as Democrats, much in the FDR sense of the word. But the "new prolifers" are often not ones who grew up Democrat. Just the opposite. They once railed against the Democrats and secular liberalism in general. Now they have aligned, and it seems their best defense is that there is one issue that matters, and that's no making abortion the only issue that matters. Having done that, they are now free to turn a blind eye to anything the Democrats decide to embrace.
DeleteAnd that's why it's so annoying! Because even without the abortion issue, Ds have gone so far left it's hard to make a Christian case for voting that party...particularly at the upper levels.
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